Estimated increase of 15.3% for inbound tourists in November

Inbound tourists in November are estimated to have increased by 15.3 per cent when compared to the same month in 2006. Year on year, total nights spent increased by 7.7 per cent. According to the ongoing frontier survey, tourist departures in November 2007 are estimated at 82,474, implying an increase of 15.3 per cent over the same month in 2006. The increase reflects primarily a rise in holiday makers, mainly from the British, Scandinavian and German markets. By contrast, a decrease was registered in tourists from Russia, Italy and USA.

Meanwhile,total nights spent increased by 7.7 per cent when compared to the same month in 2006. Year on year, total nights spent in both private and collective accommodation increased by 8.1 and 7.6 per cent respectively. Overall, the average length of stay is calculated at 7.7 nights, down by 0.5 nights when compared to November 2006.

January-November 2007

Inbound tourists for the past eleven months are estimated at 1,191,978, implying an increase of 10.6 per cent over the corresponding period a year ago. The growth was primarily attributable to an increase in holiday visits, mainly from the British, Irish and Scandinavian markets. Decreases were recorded in respect of the Austrian, Dutch and Belgian markets. Table 6 shows that 87.1 per cent of all inbound visits involved tourists coming from EU Member States. Although there was an increase in repeat tourism, data show that the overall increase was primarily characterised by a rise in first-time visits, estimated to account for 68.1 per cent of the total. The largest age bracket comprised tourists aged between 45 and 64, albeit the strongest increase is attributable to tourists aged between 25 and 44.

Total nights spent increased by 3.9 per cent when compared to the same period in 2006. Nights spent in private accommodation increased by 6.7 per cent, while those in collective accommodation registered an increase of 2.8 per cent. Tourist nights in rented accommodation and in lodging with family and friends increased by 2.0 and 19.4 per cent respectively, while those spent in owner-occupied accommodation registered a drop of 3.6 per cent. With regard to guest-nights in collective accommodation, a 22.9 per cent increase in the 5-star category contrasted with a decrease in 3-star accommodation and a lesser decrease in the 4-star category. The average length of stay of inbound tourists is calculated at 8.9 nights, down by 0.6 nights when compared to last year’s level.

During the period under review, total tourist expenditure is estimated at Lm440.5 million, an increase of 6.3 per cent over the same period in 2006. The increase was underpinned by higher non-package and other expenditure. Although the majority are still opting for package travel, direct bookings and non-package stays are exhibiting an increasing trend.

The survey results indicate that the per capita total expenditure is estimated at Lm378, down by 3.1 per cent when compared to the same period in the previous year